Saturday May 30th
We were forced to wake
up early (3:30am) yet again on Saturday so we can start our journey west to
Nagapattinam with my cousin Priya, her husband Saravanan anna, and their son,
Manesh Kumar. On our way to their house we were stopping at various temples
along the way and going shopping in Trichy.
Temple #3
First stop was Malai Kottai
or Ucchi Pillayar Temple located in Trichy. The temple is located on top of a
rock fort. We wanted to get there early before the sun came up so that we could
make the climb in the cool weather. The temple is
constructed on a 273-foot high rock and there are two temples inside the Rockfort, The Uchchi Pillaiyar Kovil and The Siva Temple. Geologically the 83 m high rock may date to over one
billion years ago.
The Ucchi Pillayar Temple,is a 7th-century Hindu
temple, dedicated to Lord Ganesha. This
rock is the place where Lord Ganesh ran from King Vibishana, after establishing
the Ranganathaswamy deity in Srirangam.
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| After making the trek all the way to the top (It wasn't really that bad) |
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| Murugan, Shiva & Parvati, and Pillayar (Ganesha) |
Our next stop was Sri Ranganathaswampy Temple in Srirangam. Srirangam is the foremost of the eight self-manifested shrines (Swayam Vyakta Kshetras) of Lord Vishnu. The temple is dedicated to Ranganatha, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu. It was constructed in the Dravidian style or architecture and is counted among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. Srirangam temple is often listed as the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world, the still larger Angkor Wat being the largest existing temple. The temple occupies an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet) making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world.
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| Most of the temples were unfortunately under construction so I couldn't get pics of the gopurams |
Our last temple stop for the day was Thiruvanaikaval a famous Shiva temple in Trichy. This temple is one of the five major Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu that represent the Mahabhuta or the five great elements (earth, water, fitre, air, and ether). Thiruvanaikaval represents the element of water or neer and the sanctum of Jambukeswara has an underground water stream and in spite of pumping water out, it is always filled with water.
It took us a good 5-6 hours to see all of these temples due to the crowds and the long lines that we had to wait in to actually be able to go into the temple. We also had to endure the sweltering heat throughout the day which made for an exhausting day.
After lunch we headed to Sarathas a clothing store in Trichy. By the time we got here I was in no mood to shop (which is saying something) just because I was completely drained from our morning of temple hopping in the heat. We ended up spending a good 3-4 hours shopping and buying sarees and salwars and some jewelry before continuing on to my cousin’s house in Nagapattinam where we promptly passed out.
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| One of the suits my sister bought |
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| Oh the choices |
Our course for the day
Sunday, May 31st
The next morning didn’t begin as early as the previous two days but we were on the road by 9am to the temple city of Kumbakonam.
Temple #6: Thirunageswaram/ Arulmigu Naganathaswami Temple
Naganatha Swami (Naga in Tamil/Sanskrit means Snake and Natha means God) is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. An important feature of this temple is that it is of the Rahu bhagawan (one of the nine celestial bodies/planets) sannathi. It is the 29th in the series of Tevara Stalams located south of the Kaveri river. Here milk abhishekam is performed daily during Rahukaalam which is a certain period of time every day that is considered inauspicious for any new venture. During this time it is said that the milk that is poured on the statue turns blue when it passes over the body and once again to white after it reaches the floor. This temple is also the only place wherein one can view Rahu bhagawan with his consorts. The mythological serpents Aadi Seshan, Dakshan and Kaarkotakan worshipped Shiva here and Nala is worshipped here as well along.
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| First cocunut water of the trip |
Temple #7: Uppliyappan Sannadhi/Thiruvinnagar of Venkatachalapathy Temple
This is a temple dedicated to the Hindi god Vishnu and is right near the previous temple. Uppiliappan is considered the elder brother of the presiding deity of Tirupathi Venkateshwara Temple. This is the temple that the Sri Venkateshwara temple in Pittsburgh is modeled after. The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Periazhwar, Thirumangai Azhwar and Nammazhwar. The temple is classified as a divyadesam, the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnava canon. The temple is counted as the fourteenth in the list of divyadesams in Chola Nadu and 83rd in the overall list.
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| The priest decided to photobomb our picture! |
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| We bought palm fruit (nongu) along the way |
Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Sani(Saturn) located in Tirunallar in Karaikal district of Pondicherry, India.[2] The presiding deity is Lord Siva, Dharbaranyeswar and the place Tirunallar was historically called Dharbaranyam. The temple is revered by the hymns of 7th century Tamil poets.
This was the last temple to round out our explorations for the day and it took us a little while to get back but it took us the good part of the day to make the rounds to these temples.
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| The archana packets that you could buy with lotus flowers |
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| There were several massive chariots that were parked outside of the temple and they were gorgeous! |
The temple course for the day!
We took a little bit of a break and then went to Vellankani which his home to one of the country’s biggest churches. The town is also along the Bay of Bengal so it has a beach that brings a ton of visitors. The Catholic Basilica devoted to Our Lady of Good Health is popularly known as the "Lourdes of the East".The origins of this church can be traced back to the 16th century and its founding is attributed to three miracles: the apparition of Mary and Jesus to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the survival of Portuguese sailors assaulted by a violent sea storm. It is built in the Gothic style, was modified by Portuguese and then further expanded later on due to the influx of pilgrims. The church building was raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. Annually, 20 million pilgrims flock to the shrine from all over India and abroad which an estimated 3 million people visit the shrine during its annual festival from 29 August to 8 September. The 11-day annual festival concludes with the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September.
Velankanni was also one of the towns that was hit the worst by the massive tsunami that was triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The tsunami struck at around 9.30 am on that Sunday, when people from Kerala were inside the church attending the Malayalam Mass. The water did not enter the shrine as it was built on high ground, but the receding waters swept away hundreds of individuals who were on the beach.
The shrine's compound, nearby villages, hundreds of shops, homes and pilgrims were washed away into the sea. About 600 individuals died due to the tsunami. Rescue teams extricated more than 300 bodies from the sand and rocks in the vicinity and large number of unidentified bodies were buried in mass graves.
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The new church building after the old one was hit by the Tsunami |
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| Getting my name painted on a seashell! |
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